Childhood's End Redux
by RedHunter87
Summary: Learning the extent of Harry's abuse at the end of his first year, McGonagall decides to press her claim as his Godmother and adopt him. Now aware of what he must do and backed up by his two best friends and his new family, Harry must train to face the prophecy that is rushing towards him. Features a driven Harry. Harry/Hermione in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1-Sometimes Dreams Do Come True

Childhood's End Redux

Summary: Learning the extent of Harry's abuse at the end of his first year, McGonagall decides to press her claim as his Godmother and adopt him. She reveals to him the real reason his parents were killed. Now aware of what he must do and backed up by his two best friends and his new family, Harry must train to face the prophecy that is rushing towards him. Features a driven Harry. Harry/Hermione in later chapters.

**Chapter 1- Sometimes Dreams Do Come True**

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I am just borrowing her sandbox to play in while I tell this story.

A/N: This story is complete redo of my old Childhood's End story. I finally have time to write again and I don't like a lot of what I wrote in my old story beyond a couple of the plot points. This is one of two first chapters of Harry Potter stories that I am putting up. **Whichever one gets a better response will be the main story** that I write, with the other one getting updates when I finish chapters for them.

This story is canon up until Harry is in the infirmary in the last chapter of the first book. **This story follows book canon, not movie canon.** In places where they differ, I went with what the books said. For your convenience I have provided a summary of the events of book one up until the point that the story begins.

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****Harry Potter is an abused 11-year-old child living in a cupboard under the stairs. Unexplained events continue to happen to him and around him. The single explanation that he could come up was magic, but even saying the word got him severely punished by his Aunt and Uncle. His hair would never stay cut, especially the time when his Aunt got angry and cut most of it off in a horrible haircut, only for the very next morning to have his hair back to normal. Sometimes he swore that he saw people bowing towards him on the street. The strangest thing however, was the fact he could talk to a snake at the zoo, along with vanishing the glass to allow the snake to go free. Soon after the situation with the snake at the zoo, Harry discovers that he is in fact a wizard. And that as a baby he defeated the greatest evil to ever stalk Wizarding Britain. A killing spell intended for him rebounded and killed the Dark Lord instead. At least, that is widely believed to be the case. Thus, Harry steps into a world that he is equally not ready and at the exact same time never more ready for. A world in which he is both famous, and has a great deal of money thanks to what his parents left behind. Harry picks up his supplies, and receives an owl from Hagrid in Diagon Alley. On the train to Hogwarts he meets two fellow students Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who quickly become his best friends. Once at Hogwarts, the three of them are sorted into Gryffindor, one of the four houses of Hogwarts.****

****This begins their many trials at Hogwarts. Harry discovers that he is a natural on a broom, and he becomes the youngest Seeker in almost 100 years for his house Quidditch team. At Halloween they battle a twelve-foot mountain troll together, knocking it out. As the year progresses they discover that Sorcerer's Stone was being kept guarded at Hogwarts. In Harry's first Quidditch match, someone tried to kill him by putting a curse on his broom, only for his most hated teacher Professor Snape to save his life. At Christmas Harry is given an invisibility cloak.****

****The courses at school was nothing like the world he left behind. The head of his house, Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration. One other that made an impact was Professor Snape, head of Slytherin and Potions Master. There was an instant dislike between them, and he learned that there was a history he had with his father, James Potter. Added to that, Snape favored one house only, Slytherin, causing the other houses to lose points in his class. ****

****Standing by his side throughout all his trials thus far were his two best friends Ron and Hermione. Ron turned out to be a master chess player, and Hermione who despite being a muggle is the smartest student of their year. They learned that the Sorcerer's Stone was in danger and suspected Professor Snape of trying to steal it. ****

****Near the end of the school year the trio decides to save the Sorcerer's Stone themselves. They head through the trapdoor, facing a series of trials. The first trail is to get past the giant three-headed dog guarding it, which requires the use of music. Next is a plant called the Devil's Snare which Hermione disposes of through the use of fire. Third is a series of flying keys, of which only one fits in the doorway that they need to go through. Harry's seeker reflexes come in handy here as he is able to catch the needed key on a broom. Next up is a life size chess game in which they have to play their way across the room. Ron took charge of this as he was the best chess player in the group. But in order for them to win Ron knew that he had to be taken knocked out. His sacrifice cleared the way for Harry and Hermione to advance. ****

****Next up was a troll that was already knocked out, so they moved past that. The sixth task they had to complete was the potions room with flames blocking both doors, in which they had to solve a riddle in order to figure out which potions would allow them to move forward and which would allow them move back. Hermione noted how clever this was, because it involved no magic at all, and was a simple logic puzzle. With Hermione's help, Harry was able to get through the flames and she was able to get back. ****

****Now Harry was all alone to face the final task. He stepped into a room where he found Professor Quirrell looking at the Mirror of Erised. That was the final test and a trap. Only one who saw himself getting the stone to protect it would be given the stone. Professor Quirrell was revealed to have been carrying around Voldemort around on the back of his head. Harry defeated Quirrell by grabbing hold of him as his touch activated the magic that his mother's death had left protecting him and burned Quirrell to a crisp.****

****Harry blacked out, and he was in the infirmary when he woke up again.****

* * *

Dumbledore stood outside of the infirmary his hand on the doorknob. As he was about to go inside, he was stopped by Madam Pomfrey. She gave him a stern look which caused him to hold his hands up. "I assure you that I will do nothing to tire him out, but I must have a few words with him."

"It is funny you mention Harry Potter, Albus," she replied. "I got a chance to do a detailed exam, and you will never guess what I found," she said with sarcasm laced through her voice.

"I knew he came to school a bit underweight, but surely a year of good food has done wonders?" Dumbledore said, taken aback at her tone. His thoughts raced as he waited for her to go on. She only took this tone when it came to the safety of her charges. Something was clearly wrong, something she believed that he was overlooking.

"I had Professor McGonagall come and confirm this, because at first, I couldn't believe what my wand was telling me," she began.

Dumbledore felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his chest as she spoke. Had his choice to leave Harry with his blood relations caused the boy to be harmed? Those he had set to watch the house had never reported any outward signs of Harry being in danger. "Please go on. I need to hear this."

"He has been mistreated, beaten, and underfed for eleven years. He has bones that have been broken several times and have never healed properly. You must remove him from his home right away. This treatment cannot be allowed to stand," Madam Pomfrey informed him.

Dumbledore hung his head upon hearing was worse then he had feared. Eleven years of abuse suffered by the one who would one day save all of them again, and it was because he had been worried only about danger from without. "Mistakes were made, mostly by me. But, I assure you that those mistakes will be corrected right away. They will never abuse Harry under my watch again, you have my word on that." He would personally go and place protections on the house of Harry's Aunt and Uncle. Protections that would alert him the moment that they raised a hand against Harry, or in any other way mistreated him. He would also have a few pointed words with them about how they had treated Harry so far.

"Quite right, they won't," said a voice behind them causing them both to turn around.

McGonagall stalked up to them fury clear on her face and in her voice. She was literally shaking from anger and she had her wand out and pointed at Dumbledore. "You lied to me, Albus. You assured me that Harry would be safe. I wanted to take him after his parents died. But I foolishly allowed you to convince me that he was being left with good muggles who would take care of him as if he was their own. You assured me the protections that you placed on the house would protect Harry. Instead they abused my Godson for eleven years. No wonder we saw a mostly broken boy who arrived at Hogwarts, and not the Boy-Who-Lived. Do you know the amount of times I wanted to hug and comfort him this year? But I couldn't because I was following your orders to maintain my distance, to not be too involved with him."

Dumbledore held up his hands in a weak attempt to ward off her fury. "Minerva, I will put safeguards in place to protect Harry when he goes back. If they lift a hand towards him, we will know right away. You are welcome to assist me in crafting those safeguards."

"WHEN HE GOES BACK? Have you lost your mind, Albus? " McGonagall yelled at him.

"He has to return, the blood wards are tied to him being with family," Dumbledore protested.

"He...is...never...going...back...there…" McGonagall all but spat at him. With visible effort she forced herself to calm down as she put her wand away. "I will be using my rights under Wizarding law as his legally named Godmother and taking him home with me. As I should have done the night that Lily and James were murdered. God forgive me, I have failed Harry just as much as you did. But that ends as of this moment."

"But, Voldemort has returned. We know that for sure now. Those blood wards prevent him from going after Harry," Dumbledore said as he tried again to make her see reason. "The wards I plan to set up, they will protect him. When I have ever failed in that area?"

McGonagall gave him a cold look. "Are you suggesting that I am not capable of properly warding my house or protecting my Godson?"

"No, it's just...there is nothing I can say that will change your mind is there?" he asked her with a sigh. Very well, he had lost this battle, but the larger war remained to be won. And to do that, he needed Harry to remain under his influence. This was a small request in the larger scheme of things and one that by granting it would indebt both Minerva and Harry to him.

"Nothing at all," she replied.

"Very well, then it is settled. You won't mind if I assist you with properly warding your house do you?"

She gave him a smile, relaxing now that she had her way. "Not at all. I would welcome your help in fact."

"I must go talk to him. There are things he needs to know. You should come as Minerva since you will be his new parent. To offer him support as you are already aware of what fate has decreed for Harry."

Together, they walked into where Harry Potter was lying in his bed.

"Harry, my dear boy, what you did was a brave and amazing thing. You saved the stone from Voldemort," Dumbledore told him. "Because of your actions, Voldemort wasn't able to fully restore himself to the height of his powers."

"My friends?" Harry asked the Headmaster weakly.

"They have been up and around for a couple of days, and they will be happy that you are awake as they have spent as much time as is allowed with you. And more. They have sunk back after closing to sit with you using your cloak."

"Harry sat up more after hearing that, and it was then he spotted that McGonagall was also standing there. "Hello, Professor." Uh oh. Professor McGonagall is gonna be mad at the rule breaking. Plus now she also knew about his cloak. Hopefully she wouldn't try and take it.

She smiled down at him. "Call me Aunt when we are not in school please."

Harry's expression changed to one of puzzlement. "I...don't...understand?" She isn't mad at Ron and Hermione?

"Really, Minerva, is that anyway to tell Mr. Potter the big news?" Dumbledore chided her.

"What big news?" Harry asked her.

" I was close with your parents before they died," she began to explain to him. "It was their wish that I raise you if something ever happened to them. I wasn't able to do for the first eleven years of your life, and I am truly sorry that I ever left you with those muggles. But I can take you now."

McGonagall left out the part that Dumbledore had swore to her that Harry would be safe and well cared for, meanwhile not bothering to check up on him for eleven years. She would make him pay for that later another way. For now, the important thing was Harry.

She paused to look at his face closely. "That is if you want that. I won't force you to accept."

Harry's expression turned to shock as she spoke. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would get away from the Dursleys." Yes! I would like that very much...Prof...Aunt. To get away from my aunt and uncle, I would almost go live with Snape...almost."

"Professor Snape," Dumbledore corrected him. He clapped his hands together. "Now that your living situation is settled, we can get down to the main reason I came here. I have something to tell you, and it won't be easy to hear Harry."

"Headmaster, I have some questions," Harry began.

"After I finish what I need to say, I will tell you whatever you want to know I promise," Dumbledore cut him off.

Harry nodded at this.

"When you bought your wand it was mentioned that only other wand has ever been sold of that type."

"How could you know that, Headmaster?" Harry asked him as shock creeped into his voice. The Headmaster hadn't been there when he bought his wand. Maybe Hagrid had told him.

"When I saw your wand for the very first time, I knew right away that it was of a wand type only seen once before. For you see, the phoenix core in that wand comes from my phoenix, and well the other matching core in a wand was sold to Voldemort."

He paused to let that sink in before going on. I am sure that you are wondering why you ended up with the matching wand to the one that gave you scar. When Voldemort attempted to kill you, he marked you. He mistakenly gave you part of his magic."

Even here Dumbledore wasn't telling Harry the entire wasn't about to explain Horcruxes to an eleven-year-old, first year student. Also, he didn't have proof of what he suspected, and he knew for a fact that Voldemort wasn't aware that he might have turned Harry into a Horcrux. Dumbledore made a mental note to confirm his theory when he suggested that Minerva take Harry to a magical healer.

"Is that why I can speak to snakes?" Harry suddenly asked as he attempted to digest this news.

"You can speak to snakes?" Professor McGonagall asked him. She carefully kept her face clear as to not show that news upset her. Speaking with snakes was an ability normally linked with dark wizards.

Harry nodded. "I made the glass vanish in a snake cage at a zoo, and a snake told me he was going back to Brazil when I did. I thought I was crazy, but then I learned that I was a wizard," he said with a small chuckle.

"It makes sense, as Voldemort can also speak to snakes. It is possible he transferred that power over to you. In fact unless I am mistaken he did without intending to," Dumbledore confirmed.

"He put something in me?" Harry said with distress clear in his voice.

"No, he gave you an extra ability, nothing more," Minerva told him calmly.

"Anyway, I am sure you are wondering why Voldemort came after you and your parents. You weren't random targets. It has to do with a prophecy. Brace yourself Harry, this won't be easy to hear." He paused to give Harry a few moments to collect himself. "Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked him.

Harry nodded his heart racing. Finally, he was going to find out the truth about why his parents were killed. This had been the one thing he had wanted to know the most since he found out they didn't die in a car crash.

****"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."****

Harry listened to what he said, unable to completely understand what it meant. A tear ran down his face as he listened to the reason for his parents death.

What few things he managed to understand was 'Dark Lord will mark him as equal' and 'one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord'. It sounded right since the night where his parents died, he survived, marking him as unique. He was the only one to ever survive a killing curse. The one to be able to vanish the Dark Lord which he had done so earlier tonight. Still, it hurt to hear that his parents' death was caused by the prophecy. But he hadn't killed him. Not for good anyway. Otherwise the Headmaster wouldn't have brought it up like he did. And was going to have to according to this prophecy. Even if it wasn't entirely true, or true at all, Voldemort believed it was, and would keep coming after him. And what's more, Dumbledore believed it, and Dumbledore was a very powerful wizard, one of the most powerful ever. But he didn't know what was meant by the power that Dark Lord knows not.

McGonagall reached out and wrapped him in a half hug which Harry returned.

"Voldemort won't get you Harry," she assured him. "He will harm you over my dead body. And you will learn to defend yourself. None of this nonsense about you being too young" She shot Dumbledore a glare as she said that last part. Her desire to protect Harry allowed her to overcome her fear of saying Voldemort's name.

Tears continued to run down his face for several minutes as he continued to hug McGonagall. Finally, he reached up and wiped the tears clear of his eyes. "Does...does Voldemort know the entire prophecy?"

"I don't believe so, only the part about the one with the power to kill him being born." Dumbledore answered. He weighed if he should tell Harry the next part carefully. If he didn't do this correctly, Harry's relationship with him would be furthered strained than it already was. The central question was; could Harry handle any more shocks to his system right now or was this information that was better shared later on? He could remain silent and hope that Harry didn't ask him the logical next question.

"How did he learn about that much?" Harry asked his mind working furiously.

Dumbledore sighed at the expected question. "Do you trust me to know what you need to know, Harry?"

Harry nodded at that. "Yes, sir."

"Then, believe me that knowing this information serves no purpose. That person has already paid for their crimes, I assure you."

Harry relaxed a bit upon hearing that. "Okay, professor. How come Voldemort couldn't keep a grip on me? His skin burned every time he touched me."

"That is your mother's blessing Harry. When she died to save you, she left a magical...shield behind. That is why I left you at your blood relations house for 11 years. Staying there continued the magic which protected you. For you see as long as you were accepted by your family, however grudgingly, your mother's blessing remained strong. Voldemort has no concept of love, or the magical power that a mother's love can have."

He sighed as he shifted subjects " I had no idea that they were mistreating you the entire time. I didn't keep as close of watch on you as I should have. I trusted the wards to alert me if anything deadly happened to you. Can you forgive an old man for his failure, Harry?"

Harry gave him a quick nod. "Yes, sir." Now that he had a reason, it sort of made sense. It kept the protection his mother gave him by dying for him alive. A great wizard like Dumbledore must have a lot of demands on his time, so he just had made a mistake.

"What about the stone, sir? I remember seeing it in the mirror, and then, I had it in my pocket."

"Now we get to the heart of the matter. To get the Stone, one had to want it found for the right reasons. If one only claimed to use it for his own gain would only see themselves with that desire in the mirror. You wondered why you got it instead? Simple, you only wanted to find it and not use it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas between you and me," Dumbledore explained with a twinkle in his eyes.

"And the cloak sir? Do you know who sent it me? The note didn't say."

"Ah, that was me, I confess. Your father left it in my care, and I thought you might like to have it. Although, he didn't use it to save powerful magical stones from dark wizards," Dumbledore answered with a small chuckle.

"I could hardly have been seen handing you such a powerful magical item, so I had to send it the way that I did."

"I am going to have to kill him aren't I? Voldemort I mean?" Harry asked them.

Minerva exchanged looks with Dumbledore before Dumbledore answered. "We believe so. But you won't have to fight him alone. It is my job to get you ready for the battle. And Harry I have every intention of fighting by your side. But you must know that you will have to strike the final blow."

"And mine to protect you up until you are ready for that battle," McGonagall broke in. "And I take that very seriously. You will get the best training possible." And he would have an army at his back, an army capable of rivaling the Death Eaters of Voldemort, if she had her way. Furthermore, she would move the heavens themselves to protect Harry. This time when they battled Voldemort, they would do it correctly.

"You will begin to receive special training this summer," Dumbledore told him. "We don't know how much time we have before Voldemort returns in full to the height of his powers, only that he is likely to. And, yes Harry, your friends can join us assuming that their parents give the okay," Dumbledore told him with a smile as he guessed at what Harry was going to ask next.

"Sir, there is one other thing that is confusing me," Harry stated.

"Go on, Harry," Dumbledore urged him.

"Quirrell said that Snape..."

"Professor Snape, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him. " You will refer to him with his proper title while you are in my presence, do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Is it true that he and my father hated each other? Is that why Sn...Professor Snape hates me so much?"

"They didn't get along, but Professor Snape doesn't hate you. He has been working hard all school year to protect you. Though you haven't made that easy, Harry."

"You try working with him, sir. He's not the most pleasant teacher to be around."

"Admittedly, he isn't known for his people skills, but he is a powerful wizard, and he saved your life several times this year," Dumbledore told Harry. "Now enough about him. I think it is time that we allowed you to rest so that you can attend the end of the school feast." With that Dumbledore stood up, heading out towards the door.

"Sir…"

He stopped and turned around. "Yes, Harry?"

"Can my friends come visit?"

How could he refuse a young man the comfort of seeing his friends?"Very well, I understand that they are waiting outside. But five minutes only, and no getting out of bed. Madam Pomfrey would have my head if you injured yourself again when you should be resting."

"Yes sir," Harry answered.

'We will talk soon Harry," McGonagall promised him as she rose and left with Dumbledore.

"Thanks Aunt!" Harry said as a smile broke out on his face.

Soon enough, his friends, Ron and Hermione, came in. They were practically running to his side expressions mixed with worry and relief.

"What happened you, Harry? It has been three days," Ron asked his friend.

"Well, that is a bit of a long story," And, Harry proceeded to tell them everything that he had learned since he awoke.

Several times through his telling of his story he saw that Hermione wanted to give him hard hugs, but thankfully she held off each time and allowed him to finish.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before he waved for her to go ahead.

"Um...Harry we are glad that Professor McGonagall is going to adopt you. We heard how bad your injuries were...and that some of them were inflicted by your aunt and uncle." Still she looked saddened slightly as she spoke.

"Mum was livid. I thought she was going to go curse them right away," Ron confirmed.

"And he means that literally," Hermione said. "The Headmaster had to talk her out of it."

Hermione was shifting from foot to foot as they spoke.

"What?" Harry asked, fearing more bad news.

She looked down at the ground. "Nothing...it's just that I asked my parents if they would be willing to adopt you, and I explained the situation to them. And I got an owl back today saying that they would. I was hoping that we could be family."

"You are already like family to me, Hermione," Harry told her. "Both of you are. You have treated me way better than my family ever did."

A smile broke out across her face upon hearing that. "Thank you, Harry."

Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. "Out you two, he needs to rest," she scolded them. She pulled her wand out muttering a spell under her breath as she pointed it at him. "This will help you sleep now Mr. Potter."

As Harry drifted off to sleep he heard her continue to mutter.

"Sometimes I want to strangle that man for what he puts the students through. What's next at the school? Dragons?"

He smiled as he rolled over and went to sleep.

* * *

The next evening, Harry walked down to the end of the year feast. He had implored his friends to go ahead early without them, so that they could enjoy the full feast. They in turn had promised to save a seat for him. After one final checkup, he had been cleared to go himself.

When he arrived the hall was already covered head to toe in the green and silver of the Slytherin house. This was to mark the 7th year in a row that they had taken home the house cup. An entire cycle of students had passed since any other house had claimed the glory. Banners portraying the serpent of Slytherin covered each of the walls, and a massive banner hung down from the rafters of the great hall. All in all, that banner looked very much like a championship title pendent that would be hung from the inside of a basketball or hockey arena.

When Harry walked into the great hall, silence descended as everyone stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at him. Rumor of the events under the trapdoor had been flying widely throughout the school in the days since the event had occurred. The intent had been to keep the events secret, so naturally the entire school knew what took place. At least a version of it.

Paying no mind to the sudden silence and stares of his fellow students, Harry walked over and sat down between Ron and Hermione. "So did I miss anything important?" he asked them.

"Just the first course of the meal. No big deal," Ron replied.

:"We are glad you are feeling up to the feast," Hermione added.

"I thought I was never going to get out of there," Harry said with a sigh. "At least the food was good, unlike regular hospitals."

Moments later, Dumbledore arrived, and all of the talking died down to hear what he had to say.

"Another wonderful year, in which hopefully much learning took place. Many of our wonderful students are here for the final time, it is my hope that Hogwarts has been an experience that you will always remember. A few words and reminders before I allow everyone to dig into the main course of the feast. First remember that assignments given over the summer, are expected to be turned in the very first day back. There will be no excuses allowed, as you have all summer to complete them. Second, I have been asked to remind you that underage magic is forbidden outside of the school, especially in cases in which our fine underage wizards will be returning to muggle homes. Do not use magic unless you are given a special pass to do so. and even then, only when an approved and registered tutor is there giving lessons."

Harry looked a question at was possible to get tutoring in magical subjects over the summer? That...when they...when... Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, had talked about giving him the best training possible, this must have been what they meant.

Ron nodded quickly before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Now on to matters that I am sure every student here wants to hear about. The house cup needs awarding. Currently, the Slytherins are poised to take home their 7th cup in a row as they lead with 472 points."

This got a round of clapping from the Slytherin table, and dirty looks from the other houses.

"We cost our house the cup," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Maybe so, but we stopped Voldemort from rising by using the stone. That was more important," Harry whispered back.

"Would you two be quiet. I am trying to listen," Hermione snapped at both of them in a voice barely above a whisper.

"And Gryffindor is in last place with 312 points," Dumbledore was finishing up. He held up a hand to stop further cheers. Not that any were forthcoming.

"But, in light of end of the school year events, more points must be awarded."

This shocked the room into quiet, as people sat on the edge of their seats.

"Just a few minor point awards to some very deserving students," Dumbledore began as the room hung on his every word. "First, to Mr. Ron Weasley...fifty points for the best game of chess played at Hogwarts since I have been here."

The Gryffindors stood as one at this announcement, clapping and cheering Ron.

Ron blushed as he held up a hand to acknowledge their cheers for him.

"Good job mate," Harry told him with a smile when they sat back down.

"If I got points, you must have gotten them to and also Hermione," Ron reasoned.

"Think it will be enough for us to win?" Harry asked him.

Ron shrugged at this. "Don't know mate, but either way we won't be in last place, and it won't be our fault that we lost the house cup."

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for her ability to solve riddles while looking death in the face, I award Gryffindor another fifty points."

No sooner had Dumbledore spoken those words then the entire Gryffindor house was back on its feet, this time to cheer Hermione.

Hermione hide her face as people near her patted her on the back and hugged her.

Finally, after another long round of cheering the Gryffindors sat back down. Still they looked ready to explode again at the next words from Dumbledore. Two statements and they were up 100 points.

"There are all kinds of bravery, and the Gryffindor house is best known for that. it is far easier to stare down the wands of your most terrible foes, than it is to tell your friends no. It is for this reason that I award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

This time the Gryffindor table wasn't the only one to rise. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were cheering with each new point awarded. The entire great hall could sense that the house cup was about to be yanked out of the grasp of the Slytherins. Just 51 more points and the house cup would belong to the Gryffindors.

"Finally...to Mr. Harry Potter, I have two point awards. First, for the sheer nerve to act on what he knew to be right, without regard to the consequences to himself, I award him fifty points."

A hush fell over the great hall. Gryffindor and Slytherin were now tied in the points standings of the house cup. But wait, Dumbledore had said that another point award was coming. Excitement built up around the non Slytherin tables as word spread about what that meant.

"Second, for keeping his calm in the face of extreme danger, and using his head to figure out the puzzles in front of him, I award a further fifty points to Gryffindor. Which means that a change in the decorations is in order." With a wave of his wand the great hall now reflected the fact that Gryffindor had won the house cup, with the banners now showing the lion and the scarlet and gold colors of their house.

The great hall went nuts, with the students of the other three houses mobbing the four people responsible for the downfall for the Slytherins.

Finally, able to break free of the pile, Harry sat back down with his two friends. This was one of the happiest moments of his entire life, and one that he would look back on fondly as things grew progressively darker.

* * *

It felt strange to not be leaving on the train the next day with his friends, Harry reflected. Yet he was going home with his godmother Professor McGonagall who was insisting that he call her Aunt Minerva. That was a change that was going to take getting used to, as he had always been slightly in awe of her and scared of her wrath plenty of times while at school. It seemed like at times that she was always taking points away from him.

Still, she had escorted him to the train platform to allow him to say goodbye to his friends. Then, she had told him that she had some end of the year paperwork to take care of, and that he was to head back into the castle once he was done saying goodbye.

Hermione reached out to gather him into a hug which he didn't fight. "It's been a fun first year hasn't it, Harry?" she said after she broke the hug.

Ron looked at her like she had just grown a second head. "Fun? Are you daft? We fought a troll, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, how is that fun?"

"Harry fought Voldemort," Hermione said, drawing a gasp from Ron at the use of his name. "As for the rest, we learned way more than we otherwise would have."

"You can't use his name!" Ron scolded her, worry clear on his face.

"Why not? Harry uses it? And so does Professor Dumbledore," Hermione pointed out to him.

"Well Professor Dumbledore is...he's the only one that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is scared of. And Harry, is Harry. When does he ever follow the rules?" Ron said with a teasing grin.

"It is only a name. They don't have power over us unless we let them," Hermione responded.

Ron shook his head at that. "You don't understand, back in the war, he was literally He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He placed a charm on his name so that he was transported to whoever said his name. To say his name out loud meant death."

"If he is scared of Professor Dumbledore, how come Professor Dumbledore never confronted him?" Harry wondered out loud.

"He did a few times if mom's stories were anything to go by," Ron said.

"But he knew he couldn't win; he couldn't beat him. Remember the prophecy...Neither may live while the other is alive. One must kill the other," Hermione reminded him.

"But, you don't really believe that stuff do you?" Ron asked her.

"Professor Dumbledore seems to believe in it. That is enough for me. And it explains why I have been able to beat him twice now," Harry responded before she could.

Ron grinned as a thought struck him. "Does this mean that you can't be killed other than by him? Like if we shoved you in front of the train something would happen that would save you?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him.

As she refocused, she found both of them looking at her as if expecting something. "What?" she said. "Is there something on my face?"

"It is a good question, Hermione," Harry told her.

She was silent for a few minutes as she considered it. "I don't think that is how it works. Even if it is literally true, that doesn't mean that Harry can't be hurt or killed by other people. It just means that he contains within him the power to defeat the Dark Lord should it come to that."

"It is going to come down to me and him in the end, isn't it?" Harry asked. In his heart he knew that it would.

Ron placed a hand on his left shoulder while Hermione placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"You will always have us, mate," Ron began.

"We fight him right alongside you, every step of the way," Hermione promised him.

"Including the final battle. You won't have to stand alone," Ron finished up.

It was clear to Harry that they had talked about this ahead of time. This was what having real friends and real family was like, Harry knew. "Thank you, both of you. That makes me feel a lot better."

"Now, don't be a stranger this summer," Ron told him. "Mum wants you to come visit for a couple of weeks. I will be in touch by owl with details."

"You're going to have a great summer with Professor McGonagall teaching you. I bet you will learn loads this summer and be way ahead of us," Hermione said with a slight pout in her voice at that thought.

"I will ask her if you can attend the lessons as well, Hermione," Harry assured her.

Her face lit up at this. "You will? I mean, thank you."

Ron looked up at as the train gave the final boarding warning. "We have to go mate. Stay safe, and write us."

"I want to know all about your new home. I bet it will be so cool to live in a wizard home full time," Hermione said.

"I will write to both of you, I promise." Harry watched as they boarded the train, and he continued to watch as the train left the school. With a sigh, he turned around and headed back inside.

He had to wait for his new Aunt to finish up her paperwork before he could see his new home. Still, anything had to be better than another summer with his aunt and uncle. Sighing, he sat down on a bench to wait.

Harry had just about gone to sleep when he heard a sound behind him. Whirling, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the sound. It was Professor Snape.

"You will need to work on those reflexes if you hope to defeat the Dark Lord, Potter," Snape said with his usual sneering disdain.

Harry started to snap back at him, but he paused as he remembered that Dumbledore had told him that Snape had worked hard this year to protect him and save his life. "Excuse me, Professor Snape, I have a question," he began, trying to be more respectful towards Snape than he usually was.

Snape looked taken aback at that, but he motioned for Harry to go on.

"Sir, Professor Dumbledore said that you have been trying to save my life all year. Is that true?"

"Trying was the operative word, Potter. You continued to insist on exposing yourself to danger time and time again," Snape answered him.

"I don't understand, sir. I thought you hated me. Why would you try and save me?" Harry questioned him with confusion clear in his voice.

"I don't hate you, Potter. I hated your father, and I saw you as an extension of him. Your father was a natural bully, and we went at it for seven years."

My father was not a bully!Harry protested in his thoughts but didn't say out loud. Instead, he asked "Then, why work hard to save me?"

"I have my reasons, Potter. And, I choose not to share those reasons with you. It is enough that the Headmaster trusts me. Now, you were waiting on Professor McGonagall to be ready for you. She sent me to come get you."

With that, Snape turned and headed towards her office not checking to see if Harry was following him.

With little choice in the matter, Harry followed Snape, his mind whirling.

With no other students remaining in the castle, their passage was swift. Within minutes, they had arrived at the office of Professor McGonagall.

Everything in her office was very neat and tidy as usual. Harry remembered several times he was in the office. He doubted he would ever find it messy unless she was busy with paperwork. Magic certainly had its uses for keeping a room clean. Professor McGonagall dismissed Snape much as a teacher would with another teacher. "Ready to go, Harry?" she asked him.

"Er, yes Prof-Aunt. My stuff is already packed. Have they-?"

"Yes, Harry. They're already at our home. Come." Professor McGonagall led Harry out of the school and to the edge of the school's property, stopping just outside of the wards that protected the school grounds.

* * *

"Hold onto me." She offered him her hand which he took. She then Apparated.

The sensation of it got Harry feeling sick upon arrival. Everything was spinning!"Whoa!" He grabbed onto his Aunt's dress to steady himself.

"Sorry about that, Harry. I should have warned you."

When Harry no longer felt the need to throw up every time he opened his mouth, he said, "N-no problem, Professor. I've experienced stranger things."

"Aunt, not Professor," she corrected him, but with none of her usual sternness she used when she was addressing a naughty student.

"Sorry Aunt...that is going to take some getting used to," Harry responded as he shook off the last of the effects of the travel. He took that moment to look around at where they were. This was his new home after all.

They were standing outside of a two story house. It appeared very warm and welcoming while at the same time quite intimidating. The front porch had steps leading to the front door and had a rocking chair. Aunt Minerva led Harry to his new house once he got his balance back and had a good look at the house. He was not surprised to see a very clean and orderly room when they walked through a simple but decorated door.

The decorations were a sight to behold as Harry tried to see each one. "I would not touch things that you don't know what what touching them will do.," Aunt Minerva told him in a stern voice, albeit one filled with a good degree of warmth.

Harry froze in the process of reaching out to run his hand over one of the decorations. Moving away from them, he looked back to her.

"I will show you your room, so you can unpack." He nodded, following her up the stairs.

The hallway was carpeted with beautiful designs of dragons and other magical beasts that Harry didn't know, as she led him to his room. When he entered, it was bigger than he dreamed. It wasn't big as the dorm room at Hogwarts, but it was bigger than his cupboard under the stairs and even his cousin Dudley's room. Hedwig screeched when she saw Harry.

"Hedwig!" Harry walked over to allow her out of the cage. Hedwig flew out and made a perch on the natural perch above his bed. Harry took the opportunity to look around and saw how comfortable looking the room was. The poster bed was against the wall, against a side wall lay a dresser, and a desk. The floor was carpeted and the walls were currently in the Gryffindor colors of scarlet and gold, and a large banner hanging on the wall across from his bed, had the lion of the house in the same colors.

"I put them that way as a default," she explained to him. "You are welcome to change them to whatever color configuration you wish. I can change the colors or style with a wave of my wand. Whatever you want on the walls can be easily managed."

"I like it, Aunt. Reminds me of my first home, Hogwarts. Now, this is my second home, I'll leave it. Maybe later I'll change it." Harry started working on unpacking his things.

"You can unpack them later. Come, Harry. There's things I need to show you," Aunt Minerva said, leading Harry outside once more.

"What do you need to show me, Aunt?" He asked as he followed her back down stairs and outside on to the grounds.

"With you being here, the security of this house and the grounds need to be upgraded. To that end, several new wards need to be placed. Can you think of any that would be a good idea, Harry?" she asked him as she slipped into teacher mode once more.

"The charm that means that no one but one person can give out the location of where the house is?" He asked in a hesitant voice. That had been placed on his parents' house, but they had been betrayed.

She nodded, giving him a smile. "Yes, that is the Fidelius Charm. I have already talked this over with Professor Dumbledore, and he has agreed to be the secret keeper. We are protected because we are both considered to live here, but only he will be able to tell others where the house is located."`

"Why is the Fidelius Charm so great, Aunt Minerva?" Harry asked her. "My parents used it, and they still died."

She nodded at that. "Sadly, Harry, they choose to trust the wrong person. I offered to be their secret keeper, and so did Professor Dumbledore, but your parents thought that both of us would be clear choices, and they wanted to fool the Dark Lord. We had suspected that there was a spy within our group, but we didn't know who it was. We only found out the night of the attack on your parents. I wish we had seen the clues in front of us earlier, Harry. I failed you that night, and I failed you again by allowing you to be placed with your aunt and uncle. But I promise you this, I will not fail to protect you again, not while I draw breath in my body. You will always be safe here."

"Thank you Aunt Minerva, that brings me a lot of comfort," Harry told her. He knew his friends cared for him, but having a family that did as well was something that would take getting used to.

"Now about the strengths and weaknesses of the Fidelius Charm. As you are aware picking the proper secret keeper is the most important thing. And it has to be someone outside of the house the Fidelius Charm is being cast on. This means that you or I can't be secret keeper for our own house. The strength of the charm rests on the ability of the secret keeper to keep the location a secret."

"Couldn't someone compel them to give up that location?" Harry asked her. "I mean I know that, Professor Dumbledore, would die before he gave up the location willingly, but I remember that we learned in potions class that it is possible to brew a potion that compels the drinker to tell the truth to any questions asked."

"No, the location can't be forced by any known means. The information must be willingly given up by the secret keeper," she answered.

"Then, the person that betrayed my parents, he willingly did it? He wasn't forced to?"

"That is correct, Harry. Sirius Black chose to betray your father and mother, despite the fact that he and your father were best friends throughout their school years. They got into all kinds of trouble together, and spent many hours in my office," she said, her voice drifting back in remembrance. "I don't know what prompted him to go over to the Dark Lord. I would have never thought him capable of such a betrayal."

"What happened to him?" Harry asked her.

"He is in the wizard's prison, Azkaban. He will spend the rest of his life there. Escape is impossible."

"Can…" Harry paused as his voice broke from the combination of grief and anger. After taking a moment to collect himself he tried again. "Can we go visit him?"

Minerva seemed taken aback by this request. "We can if that is what you really want. I am sure it can be arranged. But I don't understand what you could hope to gain from such a visit."

"I want to ask him why he betrayed my parents. I want to look him in the eye while he tells me," Harry explained. "I have to know his reasons, I have to."

"Let me consider it, and get the arrangements started. We can have this conversation later on okay?" She knew that she needed to talk to Dumbledore about Harry's request. He could make it happen, provided that he approved of such a request.

Harry nodded at this. "Thank you."

"Now, let's get back to the topic at hand, the Fidelius Charm. We have already established that the only the secret keeper can hand out the location of a house protected under the spell. There is no known way to compel someone to give up this information, it must be given up willingly. The spell is among the most difficult to cast, because the secret is hidden inside of the soul of the target wizard. This is one of the oldest known spells. Now what do you think happens to a house that is placed under this spell, Harry? There are four things that happen as a result of the spell." she questioned him.

Harry took a few moments to consider things. "Well the house is invisible, it can't be seen to those that aren't told by the secret keeper right?"

"Very good. That is one of the four. Do you happen to know any of the other three?"

"I guess...um...you couldn't point out its location to someone who wasn't informed by the secret keeper. Which means that I won't be able to tell my friends where we live."

"Yes that is because it is unplottable," she confirmed.

"But, wait… what about the people that do knew about the location before the spell was cast? Does it make them forget somehow?"

She had been expecting that question at some point. "The spells causes them to forget the exact location even if they have memories of being there. They are unable to return to unless they are let in on the secret. They know the location exists, and they remember having been there, but they couldn't find it even if they were right on the exact street it was on. The other two things the spell does is it makes the house intangible, which means that objects and people just pass right through it unless they are in on the secret. This stops the house from falling under magical attack by those that have an idea of the basic location of the house. It is also soundproof. No sound will escape to give away the location. "

"I am still confused about how they can remember, yet not remember a location," Harry told her.

She nodded at that. "Yes that part confuses a lot of people when they study the spell. Just know that it works. I will be safe because I am casting the spell, I am including you in the list of people who are allowed to know as the spell is cast, so you won't forget where you live. Professor Dumbledore will be the secret keeper."

"So I will know the location, but be unable to tell anyone about it?" Harry asked.

"That is correct. Even those who are in on the secret can't spread that secret. One of two things changes this. First, after the death of the first secret keeper, in which case everyone they told becomes the new secret keepers. Second, the deaths of those the charm is intended to protect, that breaks the charm and everyone can see the house normally again."

"Is that the only protection that will be set up on the house?" Harry asked her. He was pleased that she was bothering to talk this over with him. Having adults who would treat him as something other than just a little kid was still new to him.

"No, Harry. There's the anti-muggle charm, which will keep muggles out. Also, I will be setting up an anti-intruder jinx as well which will stop unwanted guests from entering the grounds in nonstandard ways."

"All that to protect me?" he questioned her.

"Yes your protection has become the number one priority of the Order of the Phoenix," she explained. "To that end, I am sure that some of them will want to place more protection spells around my house."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" he questioned her, having never heard that name.

"Yes, created by Professor Dumbledore, during the first Wizarding war. Now that he has returned, I am sure that the order will be reborn. I was a member of the first order and we vowed to fight the Dark Lord at all costs. Your parents were also members, and so were Ron's parents, Harry," she told him.

That made things very simple for Harry. If his parents were members, and if their first goal was to protect him, then he had to be a member as well. And if he was a member, that meant that Ron and Hermione would want to be members as well. "I want to be a member as well," he told her.

"You can't we only allow wizards and witches who are of age and who are out of school to become members."

"But if everyone is putting their lives on the line to protect me, I have to be involved," Harry protested.

"That is their choice to make as they are of age adults. You are not an adult, and so that choice is mine to make for you. While you will receive the best training possible, I don't want you out there hunting down the Dark Lord." She put on her teacher face and voice. "Do I make myself clear, Harry?"

He knew better than to argue with that voice. "Yes mam."

"Good. Now that we have settled that, we should get ready for the arrival of Professor Dumbledore. When he arrives, I will cast the charm."

* * *

A/N: A couple of things I want to clear up ahead of time...

1\. Yes this is a reboot. No the plot won't be exactly the same. Some of the same events will happen, but the overall plot will be different.

2\. While I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I am an American. I don't have an instinctive grasp of the differences between how Americans speak English and how the British speak English. I will make mistakes, please point them out and I will fix them as quickly as I can.

3\. I really do believe that Harry was abused by his Aunt and Uncle. Hints to that nature were dropped all throughout the early books, and if anything he was clearly underfed and unloved. I am treating him that way in this story, and you will see the ramifications of that going forward in later chapters. I won't shy away from the realities of what abuse does to a child.

4\. I am changing how the Fidelius Charm works in this story. I am doing this close a major plot hole The Deathly Hollows brings up. In that book we learned that the secret keeper can be a person living under the Fidelius Charm. But that doesn't make sense in context of what happened to Harry's parents, because there is zero reason for James or Lily to not be their own secret keeper. Especially, because they were aware that they had a spy in their ranks but not who. I can't see them taking chances with Harry's safety like that because they knew that Voldemort wanted to kill Harry. So, in Childhood End Redux, the secret keeper of a Fidelius Charm has to be someone outside of the house who isn't living there.

5\. While Harry will be driven in this story, he won't be super Harry or progress to the point that he is untouchable. That being said, in the books he shows flashes of being a very powerful Wizard, and this story will reflect the reality that he is capable of reaching those levels with the right push. Especially when it comes to offensive and defensive spells.

6\. This story will evolve into Harry/Hermione in time. I don't hate Harry/Ginny, but I always felt like Hermione was a much better fit for him. They went through so much together that they should have taken their friendship to the next level. Also, Ron/Hermione never made any sense to me. Ron and Hermione are like brother and sister not a couple.

7\. Unlike many Harry/Hermione stories, this story won't contain any Ron bashing. The golden trio will remain a trio. Ron was sometimes not the best friend moment to moment, but when push came to shove Ron was there fighting by Harry's side. Being aware of what Harry has to face from the very start will alter his friendship with Harry even further.

8\. I picked McGonagall to adopt Harry because she is a bad ass and I feel like she is underused in a large number of stories. She was close to Lily and James, so she could have easily been named Harry's Godmother.

9\. For the years, I am counting the summers as the summer of the previous year. Thus this summer will be the summer of year 1.

10\. The title of the story is a nod to the novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. It is one of my favorite novels. For anyone who hasn't read it they really should. The novel is pretty short but it explores a lot of important themes that are explored in later science fiction novels. One of the main themes is looking past the surface to see what really lies underneath. That will be explored in this story as well.

Leave your questions and comments in the reviews and I will do my best to answer all serious questions.

Until next time…


	2. Chapter 2-Be Prepared

Childhood's End Redux

**Chapter 2- Be Prepared **

Summer Year 1

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe. I am just borrowing this sandbox for our entertainment and the enjoyment of my readers.

A/N: I said that I would decide after the first chapter of both stories which one would become my main one based on which got better feedback. But, they both got amazing responses and were very close in reviews, follows and favorites (at the time of this writing). Therefore, I am going to extend deciding which one will become my main story to the second chapter. I will be shortly publishing second chapters for both stories. This chapter is finished so I am publishing it first, but Battle Dawn Chapter 2 is almost finished and will be uploaded as soon as it is.

If this or Battle Dawn gets the most love, I will focus more on that story. If they both continue to get an equal amount of love, I will continue to upload chapters to both stories at the same pace.

Also, I would like to respond quickly to a couple of reviews complaining about Snape and how he was written in the first chapter.

I am not "defending" Snape. I am writing him based on how he is portrayed and viewed in the novels. Of course Snape is going to think that he is in the right. He is not going to tell Harry "Yes, I was an evil shit to you all year and I am sorry."

That isn't a change that can happen without a very good reason. I never claimed that Snape was a hero either, but we are all heroes and in the right in our own minds.

Even evil shitheads don't see themselves as evil shitheads, they believe they are in the right. Look at Darth Vader from Star Wars, he slaughtered billions (trillions?), and he believed he was doing it for the right reasons, for law and order and the good of the Empire. He killed Jedi children an attempt to prevent the death of his wife and unborn kids. In his mind he wasn't thinking about how evil he was, he was thinking he would do anything to save his wife. It took Luke to show Vader the error of his ways.

And Dumbledore trusts Snape, he always has. We find out in Deathly Hallows that it is for a very good reason. Dumbledore is willing to overlook Snape's behavior unless he is forced to confront it. Dumbledore isn't perfect, far from it, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to advance what he believes as the greater good. But, this isn't going to be a story that bashes Dumbledore. Mistakes might be pointed out, but it won't be in a bashing manner.

By writing Snape the way he was written in the novels, I am not casting him as a hero or saying his actions are correct, I am just writing him the best way I think he should be written. Make no mistake, Harry doesn't like Snape.

I urge you to keep reading this chapter and upcoming chapters. A lot of the cast is going to go through changes. Including Snape. I will say no more because I don't wish to spoil anything.

* * *

Two days later, Harry woke up early as usual. As he was getting out of his room, he noticed that he had risen before his Aunt. That was a first. Maybe he could do something to thank her for taking him in. Not wanting to wake her up, he crept down to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. Upon arriving, he realized that there was no stove for him to cook on.

In fact, what he looked at that he thought was a stove appeared to be operated by magic, magic that he wasn't allowed to use outside of school till 17 when he would be of age. He wasn't used to not having morning chores to do at home, or any sort of chores really. They had a house elf that took care of everything.

The past two days had been taken up with him watching different adults casting wards around the property. Each of them had been nothing but polite to him, including him in the process by asking him questions and explaining things to him. His offer to pay for the work had been soundly rejected by his Aunt who explained she wouldn't take a cent of his money.

When the wards weren't being worked on, they had gone out to do a few things, trying to dodge the reporters that followed them everywhere in public.

Sitting down at the table with a small sigh at the thought of the trouble adopting him was causing his Aunt, he saw that an owl had already brought the morning paper, that being a copy of the Daily Prophet.

As he sat down, a house elf popped into view. "Can I get Master Harry some food?" the house elf Zarpey asked him.

"French Toast please, Zarpey," Harry responded. In moments, the requested food along with a goblet of pumpkin juice appeared in front of him. As he ate, he glanced down at the newspaper.

He had seen the Daily Prophet before at school, having learned then that it was the wizardry newspaper. He had a year to get used to the fact the pictures moved in an endless loop. It was sort of like muggle movies, but everywhere instead of just in movies and T. V's. Although the limited reading he had managed to do at muggle school suggested that muggle technology would sooner or later be able to put moving pictures and sound everywhere. But, that was neither here nor there.

By this point the fact that everything moved was no longer a surprise or something that amazed him. No, what surprised him was the cover. It was him from the annoying day out yesterday. The news reporters had surrounded him with his Aunt when they had moved outside their house.

The picture showed him flinching away from the flashes of cameras. Aunt Minerva was somewhat in the shot trying to help block them. He could see her arm with her wand extended, pointing at the news reporters in an effort to get them to back off. The news of his adoption had traveled fast.

The headline read _"Boy Who Lived Adopted by Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress!"_

Underneath that was a smaller headline._ "Minerva McGonagall adopts Harry Potter after abuse of the Boy Who Lived was discovered."_ The byline was by Rita Skeeter.

Harry picked up the newspaper and began to read.

**In a shocking turn of events that stunned the Wizarding world yesterday, news broke that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had been adopted by one of Wizarding own. Minerva McGonagall, best known as the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry filed for, and was granted adoption of her student. Sources close to the situation heard her instruct Harry to call her Aunt Minerva. **

**Yours truly, did a little bit of digging to discover how this amazing turn of events came about. To ask for and receive an adoption that quickly requires proof that the current living situation is unfit for the child. So how was it that the Harry Potter, darling of the Wizarding world had been living for eleven years in such a situation? And how bad was it? Read inside on page five for the horrifying news.**

Page five, Harry started to look as he opened the newspaper, surprised by a sudden pop up. That had never happened before in Hogwarts as the magical display played its...advertisement. The paper was frozen and unreadable as the ad played.

The Most Interesting Wizard in the World: A very macho looking wizard...in fact he looked a lot like Gandalf from the cover of The Lord of the Rings books that Harry had read shortly before coming to Hogwarts...was moving across the paper as a voice-over played.

"He is the Most Interesting Wizard in the World: When werewolves bite him, they are cured. Aurors question him on a weekly basis, just because he is interesting. His tears can cure all diseases, too bad he never cries. He is the Most Interesting Wizard in the World." Here the wizard spoke in a deep, sexy voice. "I don't often drink, but when I do, I drink Butterbeer. Stay thirsty, my friends."

As the ad ended, the paper unfroze and Harry was able to continue reading the article.

**Harry Potter, the boy who lived, suffered nearly eleven years of horrible abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle. As you most likely are aware, his parents were killed by the Dark Lord and when the Dark Lord went to strike down the baby Harry Potter, his killing spell rebounded, killing him instead. Thus Harry Potter became the boy who lived.**

**Mystery over how he was moved from his home to his new one remained clouded, along with why he was left in such a home. **

**That was until recently. Sources inside Hogwarts inform us that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore made the choice entirely on his own, and over the protests of those around him to place Harry Potter into an abusive home and keep him there for eleven years. Those who were there that faithful night tell us that Professor McGonagall pleaded with Dumbledore to be allowed to raise Harry herself, citing her close relationship with his now tragically dead parents.**

**Dumbledore is said to have told her that the choice wasn't hers to make. That as a leader of the Wizarding world it was on him and him alone to make that choice. Furthermore, he refused to allow her or anyone else from the Wizarding world to check up on the health of the abused boy. **

**We have learned of horrific events of abuse, events so disgusting that we can't bear to recount them here in this paper. No one should have to read about, much less live through what poor Harry Potter, the one who defeated 'He Who Must Not Be Named', suffered through in the hands of his Muggle relatives. We hope that Wizards and Witches will join us in rejoicing that his new home is now where he belongs in the Wizarding world. **

**As was expected, Dumbledore's decision was met with angry outcries from the wizards and witches across the United Kingdom. Dumbledore, all on his own left young Harry with his Aunt, Uncle and cousin. All three forced him to work like house elves, fed him poorly, and punished severely for any magical outbursts that were most likely triggered from the stress of their abuse in the first place. Clearly, they hated such a fine Wizard. It was only fortunate Harry survived such a predicament and went to Hogwarts when his time came. With that, he was able to be rescued and placed where he belongs.**

**On behalf of everyone at this paper, I would like to express my joy upon hearing that Harry has been placed in a proper living situation, and my fury at learning that he had spent 11 years being abused and mistreated.**

**Many would like to comment upon Dumbledore's decision and sadly we can't place them all here. But we finish the article with a sampling of what wizards and witches on the street are saying.**

**"That poor boy, having to suffer through all of that abuse at the hands of those wicked Muggles. They should have everything visited upon them that they did to Harry Potter. If I knew where they lived…" Giada Shephard told us.**

**"Dumbledore must be getting old, to send the boy that saved us all to live with Muggles. What would Harry's parents think of that choice?" Phoebe Walker commented.**

**And for the final one which is of course the most relevant, prominent wizard Lucas Malfoy had this to say about the situation: "If this is the care that Dumbledore gives to children, maybe he isn't the right headmaster for Hogwarts."**

**No word of response to the threat to his headmaster's position of yet from Dumbledore, but we will keep you all posted on it. We reached out to him, but our letters weren't returned in time for this story. Stay with this paper for further updates on the situation.**

Harry was having mixed feelings reading the newspaper. He was annoyed that the wizards he doesn't know were sticking their noses in his business. Despite that,he couldn't deny most of the information regarding to his upbringing was correct. Reading it however, didn't make him feel better. Simply put reading about your own abuse sucked.

The threat from Malfoy's father simply made him angry. Clearly his dad was as much of jerk as his son was. As he sat in lost in thought, Aunt Minerva walked in.

Looking up from the newspaper, he saw her. "Aunt, have you read this part of the newspaper?" He showed her the section he was talking about as he gave her the newspaper.

"Not yet, Harry," she replied back. She was in her pajamas and robe as she read the news coverage of Harry changing homes. "This was bound to happen, and I'm not surprised due to the entire ruckus yesterday. I wished news don't travel fast sometimes. However anything involving you is big news, it has been since that night. You would do well to keep that fact in mind going forward." Tossing the newspaper on the table and ordering her usual pancakes from her house elf, she sat down. "

We can talk more about this later if you want. Today, once you're finished up eating and getting dressed, you are going for a check up on your health. St. Mungo's, which is the Wizarding hospital has an appointment ready for you."

"A check-up?" Harry asked, surprised. His own aunt and uncle never bothered with such things for him. The only time he ever got any medical care was at school or the rare times he had been taken to the hospital due to injuries from being "a klutz" at home.

"What for?"

"It's to make sure you're healthy, and no long term damage was caused from living with your relatives for eleven years." She smiled at him. "Go on, the rest of your breakfast is here and getting cold."

Albus had suggested it, as a just in case. While Poppy was very skilled at healing she didn't have the resources the Wizarding hospital did. And Harry needed to be in top shape and she needed to know that the damage his bloody Aunt and Uncle had done would heal.

If they had done anything long term to him, she swore that she she would rain the fires of hell upon them, laws or no laws. She knew exactly how to make it look like a freak accident.

Harry blinked and looked down to the plate that appeared where he wasn't looking. Still hungry, he started eating. Once he ate and drank to his content, he got off the chair and looked to her. He smiled to Aunt Minerva before walking to his room.

He didn't exactly want to go, but at the same time he was pleased that she cared enough to insist that he did.

* * *

**~St. Mungo's Health Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries ~**

Harry stared in wonder at the wizard's hospital as he walked inside with Aunt Minerva. Things were so busy, but seemingly less ordered than a muggle hospital. He turned around startled as he heard a series of cracks in the air behind him. Two adults were holding a third limp adult between them as they shouted for help.

As he looked around, Aunt Minerva talked with the receptionist and then led Harry to the correct floor.

Some of the people Harry passed recognized him, which made the news of his arrival spread like wildfire. Great, this will likely be in tomorrow's paper. Now he would have to read a story about how poor Harry was so badly abused that he had to go to St. Mungo's.

Finally, they reached the seventh floor where they sat down and waited. It wasn't a busy day, so Harry was quickly called upon and ushered in a room.

Harry was ushered into a brightly colored room. People on broomsticks raced around the walls as he watched. On closer examination, Harry saw that one of them was wearing the colors of the Quidditch team that Ron always spoke of. Taking a few minutes to think it over Harry figured out that the other racers must be then each wearing the colors of a different team in the English Premier Quidditch league or the EPQL for short.

"You must be Harry Potter", a warm voice behind him said. "I am very pleased to get to meet you."

As Harry turned around he saw a young smiling woman in healer's robes.

"My name is Healer Armadi, Susan Armadi. You can call me Susan. I know your parents when I was young. We attended Hogwarts together. I am pleased to be your healer. Let's get started." She waved her wand. "I'm going to check on your overall health."

A light sensation went through Harry as the wand did its job. When it touched his scar, he felt a brief flash of horrible pain and winced.

"Hmm," Susan hummed in thought. "You have suffered much throughout your life before Hogwarts. Some of that damage was fixed at Hogwarts. Considerable progress was made simply from you being well fed and rested. Still, there is a large amount of damage left to undo. Not to worry though, I will have you all fixed up in a jiffy."

She waved her wand over him, causing his body to burn like someone had set him on fire, for the briefest of moments. By the time he could react to the pain, the burning feeling was replaced by a cold that swept across him causing him to shiver. Soon that feeling was replaced with an itching all over his body.

He could feel his bones knitting together properly!

"All healed up now, Harry," Susan told him.

Then taking a second look, she frowned. "That should have removed that nasty scar of yours."

She waved her wand over him again, muttering under her breath. "I haven't ever seen anything like it. It isn't harming you, not directly at least, but it sets off my wand when I test your health. I am afraid…"

"Afraid of what Mam?" Harry asked her.

"I am afraid that it will never go away, and that no magic that I am aware of can heal it." She gave him a tight smile. She tisked underneath her breath as she continued to wave her wand over Harry's body. There had to be a way to heal this!

"And I am the top healer here, if I can't fix it, it can't be fixed. Still, I am not ready to call it quits just yet. The defeater of the Dark Lord only deserves the best medical care. And, after having suffered 11 years of abuse at the hands of the nasty Muggles. Poor boy," she continued as she cast spell after spell on him, searching for something.

"Ah, yes!" she exclaimed after long minutes of spell casting. That could work perfectly. Maybe...

"What it is it?" Harry asked her.

"We will have you fixed up shortly. But for now, I need to go talk to your aunt." She paused considering.

"Why don't you work on your basic spell work while you wait? If you can do all the basic year one spells, I will give you extra candy at the end of the visit."

Harry looked at his aunt. "Can I? Can I please?" he pleaded with her.

McGonagall smiled at him. "The trace…" she began. But even as she protested, she knew that she couldn't deny Harry this. After all he had been through she wanted to make him as happy as possible. She would only put her foot down when it came to his safety and there was no danger here.

"Oh not to worry," Susan assured her. "So much magic is used every minute here, that it makes it impossible to know who is doing what magic."

Minerva nodded at this. "Very well, but basic spells only Harry. And nothing destructive," she warned him.

"I promise, I will be good Aunt," he said with a big grin breaking out on his face. He loved doing magic! And the chance to get extra candy was nice as well.

Together Minerva and Susan stepped outside, getting out of the ear shot of Harry.

Minerva dropped her smile as soon as her back was turned. "Okay Susan, spill it."

Susan had a grave expression on her face. "Professor McGonagall, the damage I scanned turned out to be more serious than I suspected. I was easily able to fix the damage that Harry suffered from his relatives. The damage that the Dark Lord inflicted on him caused some serious damage, but I was able to fix most of it." She pointed to her heard, the spot where Harry had his lightening bolt scar. "But his scar is another matter. I don't know if the killing curse that he managed to live through was the cause of it, but if I had to venture a guess, that would be what I would bet on."

Minerva forced herself to remain calm. "Bottom line it for me, Susan. How much danger is my Godson in?"

"The danger level is unknown at the moment. In the short term, likely none, but it is Harry's long term health that I am worried about. I need you to give me the okay to do a deep scan on him, so that I can find out about the true depth of the problem immediately."

Minerva needed less than a minute to consider this. "You have it. I will fill out the paperwork while you get started." She walked into the room and smiled at Harry.

"Healer Susan, needs to run more tests Harry. She is going to put you into a deep sleep for a little while. I will be here the entire time with you."

Harry didn't feel worried about this. A deep sleep didn't sound so bad, and besides his Aunt was going to be right there. "Okay Aunt," he responded.

"She will lead us to the room required for the scans," Aunt Minerva explained to Harry. She walked to him and took his hand.

As they walked Harry looked up at her. "Am I going to be okay? I mean this is just standard because I have never had a check-up here right?" Harry asked with slight worry beginning to creep into his voice. He hadn't been told to expect this, only being told that this wasn't anything like going to a Muggle doctor. Harry wasn't sure about what happened with Wizard children, but surely they needed to see healers for checkups like Muggle children saw doctors. Because Harry was looking around as he spoke, he missed the flash of worry that appeared on his Aunt's face.

"You are going to just be fine. You have the best Healer in all of the United Kingdom looking after you," she assured him. "She was one of my best students...although like you, she tended to get into some trouble. In fact, there was a time were Susan…"

Susan looked back as she heard her name being mentioned. Her face flushed red as she figured out the story that Professor McGonagall was going to tell. Acting quickly before Minerva could go on she turned into the nearest room. This hasn't been her first choice as it was a room meant for adults with none of the cheery moving pictures that were in the children's rooms, but otherwise it functioned exactly the same.

"Oh look, we are here. Now Harry, I need you to lay down on that table for me, please." She pulled out her wand as she spoke.

Harry nodded and climbed up onto the table lying down on the pillow provided. Despite the fact that the table looked like it was solid metal, it was in fact quite comfortable, and Harry felt his eyes beginning to close. He wondered how they managed to make a metal table so comfortable. I bet Hermione would know, he mused to himself.

"That's right Harry just relax and let Healer Susan take good care of you," McGonagall's voice said kindly above him.

"I want you focused on relaxing, exactly as you doing now. Don't fight this next part," Susan instructed. Pointing her wand at Harry she spoke a spell that he had never heard before. "**Sopor!**"

Almost instantly Harry was asleep.

Susan began the deep scan of Harry's body and for long moments she was silent as she paid attention to the results coming from her wand. The silence was suddenly shattered with a gasp as she staggered backwards lowering her wand.

Reacting quickly, McGonagall pulled out her wand, scanning the room for anyone who could be invisible and attacking. **"Homenum Revelio!"** she shouted as she waved her wand around the room.

Nothing. Nobody hidden. Striking from hiding had become a common tactic in the last war as it turned ugly. But besides the three of them the room was empty. She glanced over at Harry to see that he was still in the deep sleep. So why had Susan freaked out like that?

She stepped to Harry's side, looming over him as she continued to scan the room for threats. Maybe if it wasn't someone invisible, it was some other threat. Spinning her wand in a circle above her head she cast **"Apokalýptoun Tin Apeilí"**

She took a small step back as Harry began to glow, especially around his scar, snapping her wand down to cover him. What the bloody hell?

McGonagall kept her wand pointed at Harry, ready to counteract anything that threatened her Godson as she reached her other hand reached inside her robe, grabbing her two-way mirror that at the height of the Wizarding War all of the Order members carried. She didn't pull it out yet, but she could quickly do so if needed. The idea had actually come from James Potter and Sirius Black who used the mirrors to communicate with each other while in their many detentions.

Although the Order of Phoenix had been disbanded with the "death" of Voldemort, she still retained her two-way mirror and carried it with her. It didn't hurt to be careful. Especially now that they knew that Voldemort was attempting to make a comeback and she was responsible for protecting Harry.

"He's cursed," Susan said as she pulled herself back together and raised her wand again. Images sprung up in front of her as the inside of Harry's body became clear. The images zoomed into his magical core. Wrapped around his pure green magical core were black tendrils of darkness that pulsed up and down as though they were feeding on Harry's magical core.

Never in her seventy years had McGonagall seen anything like that. "What the bloody hell is that? And what is doing inside of my Godson?" she asked the Healer in a dark tone.

"Near as I can tell, it is some sort of advanced dark magic that is poisoning his magical core. It appears to be almost feeding off of it," Susan explained in a shaky voice. "I was so shocked when I first saw it that I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that Harry was in some sort of long term danger, but I never...this is a level of dark magic beyond what most healers are capable of handling."

"Can you remove it?" McGonagall asked. "I will sign whatever paperwork is needed for you to go ahead and get that thing out of Harry."

"I don't know if I can, this dark magic might be beyond my understanding. It is highly like that I will need to consult a specialist...no an entire team of specialists. " She continued to cast as she talked, running scans that were focused just on whatever this thing was that was leeching off of Harry's magical core.

"Near as I can tell this dark cruse appears to be tied into very core of who Harry is. Removing it in the wrong way could...will kill him if he is lucky. But things could be a lot worse than simply death," Susan attempted to explain to her old professor.

"Worse than death how?" McGonagall asked as her heart beat rapidly. She had just given Harry his first real home and chance at long term happiness. She had failed him for eleven years already by listening to Dumbledore, she wasn't going to fail him again now.

"He could lose his magical abilities. That would leave him helpless to defend himself," she explained calmly now as she hid her feelings behind the shield of her job. Her job was to find a way to cure this, no matter what. Personal feelings mattered not. It didn't matter that Lily had saved her life once when they were at Hogwarts. She had to do her job to the best of her abilities as a Healer.

"That is unacceptable," McGonagall said in a tense voice. To be a wizard who couldn't use magic in the Wizarding world. That was widely viewed as a fate worse than death. Besides a lot was riding on Harry, the fate of the entire Wizarding Britain, hell even the entire Wizarding world needed him to defeat Voldemort. Although Susan didn't know that, Harry had to be healed at any and all costs. No matter who she needed to bring in to achieve that end. And she knew just the person to consult. The idea of being in his debt was distasteful given the way he treated her Godson, but she would make any sacrifice required for Harry.

Pulling out her two way mirror she spoke into it. "Severus Snape."

Moments later the mirror cleared up as a face appeared on it. "Well, I must say this is unexpected Minerva. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"I need your skills...Harry needs your skills," McGonagall explained curtly.

Snape was one of the few people who were in on even part of the prophecy, so he suspected what that meant. He also knew that she wouldn't ask unless it was literally life or death. Their relationship had been strained ever since the deaths of the Potters. She placed part of the blame for that on him. This was less blame than he placed on himself for the death of the love of his life Lily. He had spent all year working to save her son as a small way to repay that debt. Now it seemed like he could take a larger chunk of the debt away by saving Harry once again.

It had been hard to balance saving Potter for Lily with hating him for looking like almost a carbon copy of James. He didn't like Harry and didn't think he would ever forgive his father for trying to have him killed and then chickening out at the last moment, leaving him with the humiliation of having being saved by his worst enemy. Snape freely admitted that he was happy to learn the news of James death.

His debt to Lily could never be paid in full. But, at least by continuing to save Potter and gathering information he could live with his previous actions. Even though he would never, ever forgive himself. Because, he understood that by bringing the part of the prophecy he had overheard to the Dark Lord, he had signed Lily's death warrant as surely as if he had killed her himself.

Besides he had promised Albus that he would protect Harry, although the reasons why must never be revealed.

"Keep the link open. I will be there in a moment. Let me gather my equipment," Snape told her curtly.

Dumbledore had discovered that a properly enchanted active mirror connection could also be used as a portal. One could literally step through to the mirror to the other side. Only four mirrors had been enchanted this way due too the difficult nature of the spell. Two of those mirrors had later been destroyed in battle. Minerva and Albus had the two remaining mirrors capable of becoming portals.

"That won't be needed. Your skills in the dark arts are required, not your potions," McGonagall informed him.

His skills in the dark arts? Very interesting. Dumbledore refused to allow him to take the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts, saying that it might tempt him to become who he once was again. Minerva was Dumbledore's right hand in almost every way, yet this request was coming from her and not from Dumbledore. This meant that he likely had no knowledge of the events.

Snape had seen the paper this morning. If half of what was claimed in the article was true it was understandable that Minerva would be quite upset with Dumbledore currently. As he was, the conditions that Harry had endured were outrageous. Snape was ashamed that in keeping his cover he had made things worse not better for the son of Lily. After all he couldn't be seen favoring those outside of his house, especially not Harry Potter.

He had no idea that Harry had been treated as such by his own blood relations. That they had taught him nothing of the Wizarding world. Snape had been flabbergasted to learn of the extent of the abuse that Potter had suffered at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. Having been through his own abuse at home, part of him felt for Potter...Harry.

Focusing he willed himself to step through the mirror appearing next to Minerva. Quickly he scanned the room, noting that an unknown healer was standing next to Minerva, and that Potter was in a state of deep sleep on the sole table in the room. In front of the healer were images of the boy's magical core, images tainted with darkness.

Snape could only think of one form of dark magic that this could be. But how? It didn't make any sense. He knew that the Dark Lord had taken steps to ensure that death would be a temporary thing, but he hadn't expected the Dark Lord would go as far as to rip his soul into fragments. That was putting one's very existence at risk. Furthermore the magic required to create a Horcrux was complex even for one as magically gifted as the Dark Lord. And any Horcrux created would naturally be well guarded as it was a piece of soul. How had it ended up in Potter? Surely the Dark Lord hadn't intended this, but how could he be capable of such a mistake?

Snape drew his wand out as he approached the boy. They needed to act quickly if the boy was going to be saved from permanent long term damage. And this would give the Dark Lord a link into the mind of Potter when he returned to his power. That was an unacceptable security risk given what he knew of Dumbledore's plans for Potter!

Raising his wand, Snape made a slight slashing motion. The image of Harry's core wavered slightly as one of the tendrils fell off of the core. The remaining tendrils pulsed angrily and expanded, growing to cover even more of the magical core of Harry.

"Stop it this instance!" Susan shouted at him. "I demand to know what you are doing right now."

Snape pointed his wand at her and said a single word. **"Obliviate!"**

Susan's head slumped as her face took on a blank look. The images in front of her vanished as she lost her focus.

McGonagall had stood by and watched the entire time, trusting that Snape was here for the right reasons and that he knew what he was on about. She didn't like him and never would, but Albus trusted him without reservation and that was good enough for her. Even if she didn't know the exact reasons why,. Now she spoke to him. "Care to explain what just happened?"

"Harry is a Horcrux," Snape explained. "Inside of him is a piece of the Dark Lord's soul."

Shock blossomed on McGonagall's face, quickly replaced by a mix of rage and confusion. "I thought a living person couldn't be a Horcrux based on what little I read about them."

"I believed the same. Clearly, we were wrong," Snape responded shortly. "What matters now is how we get it out of him."

Her face hardened and her eyes flashed anger as a thought struck her. "Albus knew didn't he?"

When questioned about if Albus knew Snape gave a small shrug. "I wouldn't know. But it seems likely that he at least suspected."

She would deal with Albus later. For now, Harry was the only important thing. "And you obliviated Susan so that she wouldn't report this like she would be legally otherwise required to do," McGonagall guessed.

"Correct" He raised his wand and began to cast all kind of wards around the room. Wards that effectively sealed them in and made it impossible to look into the room.

Snape then turned his attention back to the Healer. "We have an unknown dark magic in this child...Healer Susan," he said as he pretended to read her name off her name tag. "You attempted to cure it and the backlash wiped your memory. I was called in as I am a specialist on dark magic. You may call me Severus."

Susan snapped back to focus as she was spoken to. Raising her wand, she quickly brought the scan back up. "This is unacceptable. Do you know that this is Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named must have cursed him when his killing spell rebounded. All steps must be taken to save the child. The entire Wizarding world owes him their lives."

Snape nodded at this, choosing to refrain from commenting on her passion for Potter. "That is why I am here. You attempted to remove the tendrils and you triggered some sort of trap. Also there are more of them wrapped around his core now than before."

"Clearly this dark magic has many safeguards in place protecting it. We need a team of specialists; I need to contact my bosses."

"You can't," Snape lied smoothly. "Before you attempted to remove the dark magic, you created a list of safeguards for us to follow. One of those safeguards was that we are stuck here until the problem is solved. I was instructed to seal the room off by my bosses working off your suggestion. I have done so as ordered. I am afraid that the wards are quite impossible to break through in any reasonable amount of time. Meanwhile the dark magic is aware of us and it is growing inside of Potter. We don't have a lot of time."

Susan nodded at that. It made sense that she would act to seal the room if it was at all possible that this dark magic could spread. "I hope that you have come up with something," she told Snape.

He nodded at this. "I know one thing that might work, but it carries a lot of great risks. You will need to be standing by with several major healing spells ready."

"Wait. Why?" McGonagall said stepping back into the conversation

"I am going to attempt to remove all of the tendrils from Harry's body at once, using a modified version of another spell. But in order to be sure that I get all of it, I have to be totally focused on the removal and not on the how it is removed. I plan to take the most direct route possible."

"You are going to rip the tendrils out of his body?" Is that wise?" McGonagall said with worry in her voice. "That doesn't sound safe and it very well could kill him."

Susan and Snape exchanged looks. "That is correct," Susan told her. "However given the backlash from the first attempt, this might be the only way to go about this. Can we proceed?"

McGonagall was silent for long moments as she calculated the risks. But in the end she didn't see any other choice. They couldn't destroy the Horcrux while it was still in Harry's body, not without likely killing Harry. If they could even figure out how to destroy it all. Somehow she didn't think that normal magic would be enough to kill such dark magic. Still, one problem at a time.

"Proceed," she told them. It sucked to be regulated to a spectator by these events.

Nodding Snape raised his wand again making circles in the air above Harry's body. **"Magia Malefica Dispersimus!"** he shouted out. As he completed the spell Harry began to jerk around as deep wounds opened up all over his body. His shirt dissolved into a mess of red wounds. Black mist began to rise out of the wounds on Harry's body, quickly forming into the shape of a man.

Acting quickly, McGonagall pointed her wand at a container designed to hold ink on the counter. **"Incarcifors!"** The ink container rose up into the air transforming into a prison that wrapped itself around the mist. The container shook and seemed like it might break before settling back down.

Meanwhile, Susan was muttering **"Vulnera Sanentur" **over and over again over each of Harry's wounds. Slowly the wounds closed and Harry's breathing returned to normal as the color also returned to his body.

She slumped over the table as she finished up, feeling totally drained. She had never performed so many major healing spells in a row like that. It was a miracle that Harry had managed to live long enough for her to close all of the wounds up.

Holding the container containing the Horcrux in one hand, McGonagall conquered up chairs for all of them to sit in. As she settled down in her chair, she smiled at both of them. "Thank you both. You have saved Harry's life and his magic."

She held up the container. "I will take this to the proper place to be dealt with."

"What was that? It was almost like another person was inside of Harry, or a fragment of another person."

This time it was McGonagall that said **"Obliviate"** as she pointed her wand at Susan. They waited while the Healer shook off the effects of the latest memory wipe.

"What happened?" Susan asked weakly she clutched at her head.

While this was going on, Snape was dismantling the wards that he had put into place earlier.

"You did it, you saved Harry's life, but before I could contain it some of the dark magic struck you, leaving you unable to act or speak. We captured it and Severus healed you. But it appears that your memory was lost again. This must have been the final safeguard of whatever this is. Know that you saved the life of my nephew and for that I can never repay you in full." Lying came easy to her after her long practice with the Order. She would do whatever it took to protect Harry.

Glancing down at Harry, Susan cracked a huge smile. "Look his scar no longer looks infected. " She took a seat next to Harry and put her feet up. "I am happy that Severus and I were able to heal Harry."

Harry stirred weakly on the table. "I feel so strange" he groaned.

Susan stood up drawing her wand again. "Strange how, Harry?"

"I feel so weak, but I feel lighter than I ever had been at the same time," Harry answered as he attempted to sit up.

"There was a problem with your magical core. But we corrected it," Susan explained to him.

"Your magical core is what gives you the ability to cast magic. Every Wizard or Witch has a different size core, which is why everyone has different levels of ability."

She did another quick scan on his core as she spoke. Now it was glowing bright green with no dark spots on it. And she could have sworn that it had grown in size by a fair amount. But that might have been her confusion talking she knew. What she thought had happened simply wasn't possible. No cores could grow that quickly. Magical cores grew at a measured pace throughout a Wizards childhood and then to a limited extend as they entered their primes. Sometimes magical events could expand the core, but nothing like she thought she had seen with Harry's magical core.

"You look better than ever," she said as she finished up the scan and lowered her wand.

As Harry sat up he continued to speak. "No, I feel lighter inside like a heavy weight was…" he cut off as his eyes locked onto Snape."What is he doing..." he began to ask only to stop when his Aunt shook her head slightly.

"He assisted me when I required his expert opinion. Your visit is over, and I'm glad to give you health checkups in the future Harry," Susan continued.

She waved her wand and a bowl of candy appeared, and she handed it over to Harry. "  
Here you go sweetie. You were great, so I am giving you extra."

Harry took the bowl, looking down at the amount of candy that had been given to him in wonder. Oh yeah, this was far better than Muggle doctors.

"That's our cue to leave. We need to get you home and rest up from this," Aunt Minerva said as she got up.

Severus remained where he was not saying a word.

"By all means he is free to go," Susan told her. "But Harry, I have a few warnings for you. Your core feels different, and your magic is fully healed now for the first time since you were a baby. So that means that you might experience stronger bursts of magic when you cast spells. It will take time for your body to become fully adjusted to what you are now capable. You need to be extra careful, don't overtax your new abilities."

She smiled at him as she spoke. "Also one other thing. You might be prone to random outbursts of magic while your core adjusts. If you strive to remain calm, you can limit the amount that it happens, and how big the outburst are. If you have any problems please come back here right away and I will take a look."

* * *

**~Location Unknown~**

Watching in his spirit form, Voldemort watched a small child playing in the woods near his house. He had been observing the family for a couple of weeks now and concluded that this was the perfect location to lay low and make plans to get his body restored. In the worst case situation, he could always wait for the child to grow up naturally and come into his own magically, with a core that would be enhanced by his presence. Then he could take full control when the time was right.

For now, though, he could only partly inhabit the body of the child. He had considered fully taking control, but doing so would rapidly degrade the body due to the influx of dark power. He could always find another body, of course, but leaving a trail of dead children behind him seemed like an easy way to track his movements. And it had to be children, because adults would be capable of fighting his possession in a way that would be problematic unless he was invited in.

Surely Dumbledore would be searching for him now, that he was aware of his existence once again. He wasn't ready to confront Dumbledore just yet. Dumbledore couldn't kill him, but he could likely find some way to hinder him anyway.

Dumbledore was the only living wizard worthy of respect, someone who could almost match him in power. He had fooled him once, but Voldemort knew from experience how cunning his foe was. How many Death Eaters had he sent to kill the old wizard, and yet Dumbledore lived and those sent didn't. And the army he gathered around him last time was full of skilled wizards. No, he would have to deal with Dumbledore personally, and he would need to fully regain his strength in order to win that battle.

Still, he had been winning the war, winning when he had gone to kill the child with the power to one day take him down. Somehow the sacrifice of the mother had protected the child. Still protected the child. The events at Hogwarts had proven that. Simply touching the child had caused the skin of his borrowed body to begin to smoke and burn. He would need to look into ways to overcome that protection before he struck at the child again. Lord Voldemort didn't make the same mistake twice after all.

For now, he considered his options. He could lay a very light touch on the child, directing him through dreams and visions. Part of the reason that he had chosen this family was because of the father's job. As an Auror who specialized in hunting down dark wizards, he had access to a treasure trove of dark magic. What wasn't well known was that he had kept several books and objects for his own private study. Those books could be useful, and it could be arranged for the child to stumble upon that knowledge.

The other riskier, option was to use wandless magic to control the parents of the child. Aurors however, were trained to shake off that sort of control, and it wouldn't do to have him break free. Also controlling both of them at once would strain his limited abilities in this form. He would have to draw upon the magical core of the child, which could put the child at serious risk if he drew too deeply. Since that couldn't happen through a random burst of magic, that might draw the attention of Dumbledore, who had spies everywhere.

Silently, Voldemort glided forward, his spirit making contact with the child and being absorbed into his body. As long as he didn't push the child's magic further then it should go, he wouldn't be noticed. He pulled himself inward, being sure not to feed off the magical core of the child. He needed him alive and in good health. Now he just had to wait. This was something he was good at. After all being immortal had its perks. He never had to worry about old age or death. However long it took, he would restore his power, and he would get his revenge on Dumbledore. Then he would his attention to slowly killing Harry Potter as was a befitting punishment for the one who had put him into this spirit state.

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A/N: To answer the number one question that I know is sure to be asked, yes Hogwarts has ad block installed in the castle :P

Now on to a couple of points about this chapter. I feel that the wizardry world should have some form of a check-up like the Muggle counterpart but through the use of magic rather than machines. The scene at St. Mungo's in book five gave me a window how wizards view injuries and how to take care of the patients.

It seemed odd that the children weren't required to attend checkups to make sure they're healthy and that it is fully left to the parents to take care of their health and needs. Of course, I can't be sure due to the entire series revolving entirely around Harry. Going to see the doctor is a common childhood memory for most of us, so the books seemed to be missing that.

Due to what Harry suffered, his check-up wasn't going to be a normal one. I have no idea how the people who treated Harry for all his injures at Hogwarts missed the injures that he had suffered before coming to Hogwarts. How they thought he was a perfectly healthy 11-year-old kid. But, I digress.

To answer another question that I know is going to be asked; yes, that was the Horcrux that was part of Harry. J.K says that Harry didn't have Horcrux inside of him, but the way she described whatever was inside of Harry sure makes it sound as it was one. Otherwise why would Harry need to "die" in order to kill it so that Voldemort could die?

Either way, I am treating it as full Horcrux in this story. Now it has been removed from him. It hasn't been destroyed, McGonagall and Snape don't know how to destroy a Horcrux. It is currently contained. This will have some interesting side effects on Harry beside enhancing his magical core. For example, he will no longer be able to speak to or understand snakes. That ability came from Voldemort.

I used some new spells in this chapter, and I will continue to use my own created spells in further chapters as I fill in the gaps of what wasn't said in the books. As they mostly are in the books, my spells use Latin and Greek phrases and roots. I do my best to get things correct, but mistakes are bound to happen anyway. If you, the readers will kindly point out when you see those mistakes, I will correct them as soon as possible. Anytime I use a spell, I will define it at the end of the chapter. Spells in bold are of my own creation.

Until next time...

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_Glossary_:

****Sopor ******→ This spell puts the target into a deep coma-like sleep. It is important that it is used on a willing target as the body is capable of resisting and shaking off the effects of this spell otherwise.**

****Magia Malefica Dispersimus****** → This means literally to scatter/disperse dark magic. The wording puts it in the first person meaning that Snape **said **"I disperse the dark magic." This spell takes a good deal of magical ability and skill to pull off. **

Incarcifors → Transfigures a common container into a prison for something or someone. The word means to imprison or incarnate. The spell comes from the Harry Potter Card Game.

Obliviate → A memory wiping spell that leaves the target confused afterwards. How much memory is wiped depends on how much power is put into the spell.

Vulnera Sanentur → A spell used to heal major wounds. Invented by Snape.

**Apokalýptoun Tin Apeilí **→ A spell that reveals non human threats in a small area. It translates to "reveal the threat" in Greek. Spinning the wand allows the spell to focus in a direction and area. It is possible to tweak this motion to cover a smaller area if the caster has an idea of where the threat is coming from. The reason that Harry glowed when the spell was cast is because of the Horcrux inside of him. Because of the dark nature it is a threat.


End file.
